‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2′ to Deviate From Comics in One Big Way

Guardians of the Galaxy is still in theaters, but director James Gunn is already teasing details about the sequel. During a recent interview with Empire, Gunn revealed more about what viewers can expect to see in the next installment of the new Marvel superhero franchise.

The studio announced a follow-up film, scheduled for 2017, before the initial movie even hit theaters. The preemptive move turned out to be a smart one, as Guardians of the Galaxy received rave reviews from both critics and audience members alike. It went on to break August box office records during its debut week and has since gone on to earn a worldwide total of $319.1 million. After the wide success of the first film, it’s no surprise that Marvel was quick to bring Gunn back on to helm the second flick as well. Now, the director is disclosing a little more information about what he has in store for the already highly anticipated sequel.

As those who have seen the movie already know, Guardians of the Galaxy left the audience with several lingering questions still up in the air; most pressingly, who exactly is Peter Quill aka Star-Lord’s (played by Chris Pratt) father? Gunn confirmed to Empire that he had already worked out the storyline for Quill’s parents, including the identity of his father, before production on the first Guardians even began. He also revealed that moviegoers can expect Guardians of the Galaxy 2 to further explore the mystery of the superhero’s parentage.

“There have been a lot of documents passed around about who Peter Quill’s father is between a select two or three of us. That’s been part of the plan since the beginning, that’s something I had to work out before we shot the screenplay,” Gunn explained. “We wanted to make sure Yondu’s place in everything made sense, and it does, so it’s all very specific stuff.”